tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6795358225183778642016-12-06T21:43:51.855-08:00isavirtueKaitlyn Patiencenoreply@blogger.comBlogger877125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-19015588590312353872016-05-02T06:38:00.000-07:002016-05-02T06:38:01.159-07:00isavirtue + Nature's my Friend - Funny Punny Animal Greeting CardsI can't even remember how I met Jessica from Nature's my Friend. Before my son was born, I asked if she would be open to creating a piece for me to commemorate the new relationship I was about to experience (a beautiful doe and fawn illustration). In early 2015 I emailed Jessica to see if she would be interested in collaborating (I even sent her this video in my early request to make her laugh). Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-49959855596433774672016-04-08T07:49:00.002-07:002016-04-08T08:09:12.435-07:00Goye Artiste Ceramiste - Quirky & Feminine Functional Ceramics
Not too long ago I spent the day at the One of a Kind Show. I was inspired by so many of the craftspeople, and in particular by Stéphanie Goyer-Morin - Goye Artiste Céramiste. When I encounter an artist like this, I feel partly jealous (why can't I be that talented?) and partly in awe.
It's no secret that I love work which is a cross between feminine and sinister. Although most of the Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-8037490118602364292015-05-07T10:45:00.003-07:002015-08-07T06:35:40.683-07:00so long, farewell, auch wiedersehen, goodbyei began this blog in 2009. i met a group of women in graduate school, some of whom had blogs. i began my own in an effort to channel some of their chicness and devil may care attitude. those women are trendsetters so needless to say their blogs are long gone. but here i am, six years later.
for me, blogging was an outlet for inspiration, and provided a sense of community. but as many have Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-40512581351303055232015-04-25T10:49:00.003-07:002015-04-25T10:49:51.345-07:00place | home is where you are?
A bird's landing view of beautiful Victoria, BC
I recently had the opportunity to return to the West Coast again. When I visited my adopted hometown last fall, the trip was very rushed and I felt overwhelmingly like a tourist. This time, I had lots of time and felt less like a visitor. I still didn't feel like I used to when I lived there - but I think I knew that wasn't possible. I Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-45115675516330016632015-04-23T16:02:00.000-07:002015-04-23T16:02:06.359-07:00art | krista svalbonas
in two days we are moving. it's not a forever home, it's just another temporary home. i have to say - after ten years and seven apartments (plus three houses and two cottages for my parents) i am so so ready to have a home i can live in for awhile. maybe not forever, but long enough to settle. it's no secret that i am a homebody!
and so it seems an appropriate time to share the beautiful Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-36455194596179927362015-04-18T07:40:00.000-07:002015-04-18T10:28:50.870-07:00roots | american greetings cards and craftsI spent the morning writing cards - thank-you cards, congratulatory cards...and I even got a head start on mother's and father's day cards. and suddenly i had a strange deja vu from when I used to make cards as a little girl. Handmade, sure - but more specifically I was remembering the cards I used to create using American Greetings Crafts.
This awesome software had all sorts of projects, Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-42113538363161160532015-04-14T14:54:00.004-07:002015-04-14T15:18:10.828-07:00baby | working from home with a baby
This week I read a post on Elise's blog about how she spends her work days. Because she planned to write about a specific day, it gives a nice breakdown of how she works and creates. It got me thinking about how I spend my days. Elise once mentioned that getting childcare was the best thing she ever did for her sanity, her work, and her role as a mother (I'm paraphrasing). I've considered itKaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-85018637007741159682015-04-12T11:31:00.003-07:002015-04-12T11:32:05.854-07:00baby | letter april 12.15Jack,
As you learn to walk, you're taking a lot of tumbles and I'm recalling your very first falls when you were inside of me.
One night, while living in Victoria, I took the bus home after Anne-Marie's wedding bachelorette party (Do we still know Anne-Marie? I hope so because at the time this letter was written, we have been friends for 15 years already!). Needless to say I hadn't been Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-74119971851431342462015-03-23T18:54:00.000-07:002015-03-23T18:54:35.078-07:00isavirtue | on instagramjoin me!
Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-45115810604653491532015-03-15T06:41:00.004-07:002015-03-15T06:45:49.511-07:00minimalism | figuring out when it's time to declutter
I'm trying to pinpoint the exact moment when I became sort of neurotic about minimalism. was it last week when I borrowed five books about decluttering from the library? or was it the week before when i read forty amazon reviews on a book about organization to find out if it was "truly" the right one to purchase? (i did, and it wasn't). Maybe it was last year when we welcomed our new son and IKaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-34462997856634973332015-03-13T06:12:00.003-07:002015-03-13T06:16:18.826-07:00snail mail | children's pen pal exchange & children's letter writing kits
I recently worked on a special project with Alison from The Petit Cadeau (french for 'little gift'). I admire Alison and her zest for gift giving - we also share a love of snail mail (and really, isn't a personal letter in the mail just like a gift?).
For those reasons, we teamed up to create a children's letter writing experience. I designed snail mail sets for kids - including three Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-37089967834279210282015-03-12T11:02:00.000-07:002015-03-13T05:50:04.621-07:00art | rachel machenryI think one of the biggest reasons I'm excited to be working for Craft Ontario is because I absolutely love the intersection between art and functionality - and there lay craft. Of course I love art for art's sake as well. But threading together the things we need and the things we find beautiful is really what creates the aesthetic fibre of our lives.
Below are embroidered fabric works by Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-60122324750079490922015-03-05T05:59:00.003-08:002015-03-05T06:01:50.358-08:00baby | letter march 05.15My aunt told me about this idea, where you set up an email account for your child, and write them letters through-out the years. An inbox full of letters from your mother would be an excellent gift for a teenage boy right?
Dear Jack,
All my life I have waited to feel the way I imagined the next stage of life might feel. When I turned thirteen I waited to feel like a teenager. When hit my Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-25452363962573145972015-02-28T05:48:00.002-08:002015-02-28T05:53:16.749-08:00career | predictions of failure
via death to stock
When I have an idea for a blog post, I make a note of it on my phone. Today, out of curiosity, I scrolled all the way to the bottom. There it said:
Fine Arts Speech for new entrants last week: Gave examples of how I am still in the arts field - though I graduated three years prior. So scared that being pregnant means that no one in this field will hire me now. My Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-80107687649200249632015-02-21T13:14:00.002-08:002015-02-21T13:14:25.248-08:00craft | finding space
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The style of my current bedroom closet is standard. There is a lot of empty space, then a rod, and a shelf at the top. I fill the empty space with storage containers that have drawers. This allows me to pull out and place in objects with ease (mostly...pretty much...that's the idea anyways). But up on the shelf, where I have to stand on my tippy toes to reach, I pile things.
I stack packsKaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-25996481496625711022015-02-18T06:53:00.005-08:002015-02-18T17:08:58.067-08:00photography | iphone baby photos
yesterday my son walked right across the room. it was more steps than i had ever seen him take. i sensed that he was going to do it so i pulled out my phone, put it on video mode and hit record. of the ten steps he took, i recorded a total of one. why? because my phone is so full of photographs (mostly of him!), i didn't have enough memory to take a video.
i'm actually pretty ruthless as itKaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-58196427157037390932015-02-17T06:34:00.000-08:002015-02-18T17:09:14.577-08:00isavirtue | ordering product internationally
Living as close as I have to the United States is kind of like someone putting a cake in front of you but telling you you're not allowed to eat it. I grew up (and live now) in the Greater Toronto Area - just an hour long car drive to the Niagara border (and not that much farther to New York). For five years, I also lived in Victoria, part of an island in British Columbia that actually dips Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-91343022131998143992015-02-14T11:22:00.002-08:002015-02-18T17:09:30.116-08:00isavirtue | rebranding my business
via death to stock
THE TRUTH
In all honesty, I've never truly thought of my stationery shop as a business. I think of it as a hobby; a creative outlet. A place where I can hawk my goods so that I'm not forcing them on friends and family, or piling them in my closet (well, ok, I'm still piling them in my closet but at least they have the potential of a future home).
A FRESH PAGE, A CHANGEKaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-23706022115364155222015-01-14T03:00:00.000-08:002015-02-18T17:09:45.208-08:00mail | send a letter "i just know you can do it"january 8 to 14 is international letter writing week - so today is the last day! but don't worry, there is one more writing prompt for you.
today, write a letter to someone who could use some encouragement. my brother just got a new job - and although i'm sure he's totally not nervous at all, i'm going to mail him a little note of encouragement that sums up today's theme: "i just know you Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-59868111568479762512015-01-13T03:00:00.000-08:002015-02-18T17:10:31.414-08:00mail | send a letter "via air mail par avion"january 8 to 14 is international letter writing week! every day i'm posting prompts here (which really, could be used, any day, year round). today's prompt is "via air mail, par avion." it's a term used on air mail stickers that includes both french and english (that's not just a canadian thing is it?).
try writing to someone who lives very far away. i mean, you could technically write Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-71517198554821812312015-01-12T03:00:00.000-08:002015-02-18T17:10:51.763-08:00mail | send a letter "hello (i just wanted to say hi)"january 8 to 14 is international letter writing week. this means taking the time to write and post some happy mail!
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today's theme is "hello, i just wanted to say hi." pick someone who might not expect a random hello from you in the mail. the goal is to have them feeling delighted and surprised!
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i am going to write to an old university roommate who is just coming home from a long Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-2526569297936554262015-01-11T03:00:00.000-08:002015-02-18T17:11:40.713-08:00mail | send "i appreciate you/that thing you did"january 8 to 14 is international letter writing week. but wait! it gets better! today is international thank-you day! some of my favourite letters to write and mail are thank-you notes. because if there is anything better than receiving a letter, it's receiving one that sings your praises.
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since moving back to ontario i have been in a constant state of appreciation. having a baby really Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-49854231911241670432015-01-10T01:00:00.000-08:002015-02-18T17:12:14.953-08:00mail | send a letter "tmi too much information"january 8 - 14 is international letter writing week. today's letter writing prompt is: "tmi too much information." write a letter to that person that you can tell anything too!
some of my favourite letters are rambling "stream of consciousness" diatribes from my closest friends. i'm going to write a letter to my best friend who just had a baby. i'll admit i'm hoping for a TMI letter in returnKaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-18053600379642634962015-01-08T19:37:00.002-08:002015-02-18T17:12:40.607-08:00mail | send a letter "i kind of sort of miss you"january 8 - 14 is international letter writing week. today's letter writing prompt is: "i kind of sort of miss you." write a letter to someone you miss or haven't seen in awhile!
i'll be following my own prompts and writing letters too. follow me on instagram to see photos of my mail pieces before i send them out.
and of course, everything in the stationery shop is on sale today. use the Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-679535822518377864.post-36046829307570208772015-01-08T07:21:00.001-08:002015-02-18T17:12:49.975-08:00how to | write a letterhappy international letter writing week! from january 8-14 every year, the world celebrates the joy of writing letters to penpals, friends, and loved ones. how great is that?
when i was younger, i attended a leadership conference and heard the amazing sunjay nath. sunjay is an inspirational speaker - and one of the best i have ever heard. from him i learned about the humour of linguistics, Kaitlyn Patiencehttps://plus.google.com/101920691726435875880noreply@blogger.com0